Higher Everyday Living Fee (HELF) in Aged Care

Higher Everyday Living Fee

Replacing Additional & Extra Services fees - 1st July 2025

What is the Higher Everyday Living Fee (HELF)?

The new Higher Everyday Living Fee (HELF) will replace the existing Additional Services and Extra Services fees, starting 1st July 2025, and will allow aged care residents in Australia to pay for enhanced services not covered in the standard daily care.

The objective of the introduction of the HELF is to allow the aged care resident to have more control over whether they use, and incur the cost of, additional services over and above the services subsidised by the Commonwealth.

The HELF may include optional services such as premium meal choices, on-site entertainment options, premium outings and access to personal services like hairdressing and private transport.

The objective is to offer residents a more personalised care experience while providing a revenue source for quality improvements.

HELF will be NEGOTIABLE between Resident and Provider

The HELF will be negotiated between the resident and provider, with guidelines designed to prevent residents from being obligated to pay the fee as a condition of admission. This is currently the common approach by providers.

Providers are also expected to respect a resident’s right to discontinue any HELF services, ensuring flexibility and consumer choice.

To reinforce protections, measures such as cooling-off periods and periodic reviews will be in place to maintain the service’s relevance and value for residents.

This structure aims to address enhancing residents' quality of life and some of the financial challenges within the aged care sector.

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Transition to HELF for pre-July 2025 residents

For residents already receiving Additional or Extra Services before 1st July 2025, a gradual transition to the HELF model will occur over a 12-month period.

Existing residents can maintain their current arrangements if they choose not to transition to the new fee structure.

Related Residential Care Reforms

In addition, other related reforms address accommodation costs, notably the introduction of a retention rate on Refundable Accommodation Deposits (RADs), which allows providers to retain 2% of RADs annually for new residents, capped at five years.

Daily Accommodation Payments (DAPs) will also be indexed biannually, and the capped maximum room price (before seeking apprval for a higher level RAD from the Pricing Regulator) will be raised to $750,000 on 1st January 2025, with yearly adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index.

These changes aim to improve financial sustainability for aged care providers and ensure capital upgrades needed for future demands.